


Platonic

by hopeforrain



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 18:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4148505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeforrain/pseuds/hopeforrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Dean and Seamus tread the fine line between being friends and being not friends</p>
            </blockquote>





	Platonic

In their third year, Dean and Seamus started some new classes. After breakfast, they sat at the Gryffindor table, trying to figure out where Ancient Runes was. Seamus suddenly realized which direction to go, and he instinctively grabbed Dean's hand to lead him to class, because that's how his older cousins always showed him where to go. Dean jerked his hand away. Seamus had never tried to hold hands before. Was this some kind of gay thing? Seamus laughed and said, "Come on, Dean. It's just platonic."  
Dean relaxed and let his friend grab his hand. "If you say so."  
As they ran up a flight of stairs, Dean asked, "Since when do you know fancy words like 'platonic'?"  
"Shut up," Seamus laughed, releasing Dean's hand to punch him on the arm. 

They rode the train home for Easter holidays together, just like they always did. Before they got off, Seamus reached out to give Dean a hug. "See you after the holiday, mate," he said.   
"Sure," Dean replied. He pulled back from the hug and asked, "Platonic?" just as a confirmation.   
"Of course," Seamus replied, reaching up to slap his friend on the back. 

In their fourth year, they went to the Yule Ball. Not together, but after a couple hours, they had both lost the girls they came with. Seamus grabbed Dean by the hands and dragged him onto the dance floor. "It's platonic, mate!" he yelled over the roar of the music. Dean laughed as he and his friend joined the crowd of teenagers dancing their hearts out. 

When Cedric died, Seamus was really shaken. He and Dean sat on a couch in the common room that night, staring into the fireplace. Seamus scooted over right next to Dean and curled up against his side. Dean looked at him hesitantly, and Seamus pulled the other boy's arm around his shoulders. "It's okay," he said. "It's platonic." Dean relaxed and leaned his head on top of his friend's, holding him close. 

In their fifth year, Seamus came out to his mother, and it didn't go very well. Dean found him in their dorm room in the evening, sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. Dean sat down next to him and put an arm around his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"  
"No, I just want to go to sleep," Seamus responded. "Can you stay?" Dean looked at him, about to say no, and Seamus said, "Dean, please? It's just platonic. I just need my best friend with me." Dean couldn't say no to the pleading in his voice.   
They carefully laid down on the bed together and drifted off to sleep, Dean wondering, for once, if this one actually was platonic. 

Seamus' first DA meeting didn't go very well. After Harry yelled at everyone to leave, Dean and Seamus got separated. Dean looked for his friend, but couldn't find him, so he went back to the common room in hopes that he would be there. He climbed through the portrait hole and saw Seamus pacing by the fireplace. Dean strode towards him and Seamus wrapped his arms around the taller boy's neck. Dean felt his friend's face buried in his neck and heard him say, "I was worried they'd caught you. Platonically, you know."  
Dean did know, and they stood that way for a while. 

In their sixth year, it was Seamus’s turn to find Dean hunched over on the edge of his bed. Seamus knew why. Ginny was a nice girl usually, but it would have been kinder for her to wait a bit between breaking up with Dean and kissing Harry. Seamus sat on his own bed facing his friend.  
“Why didn’t she love me, Shay?” Dean asked quietly. “I love her. Why didn’t she love me?”  
The pain in Dean’s voice was a little too much for Seamus to handle. He crossed the space between the two beds and knelt in front of Dean, grabbing his hands. “I love you. I love you, Dean.”  
“Platonically, right? It’s not the same.” Dean took his hands from Seamus’s and turned away, leaving Seamus wondering how on earth he was supposed to explain to his friend how he was feeling.

Dean knew he had to go into hiding, but he had to do something first. He walked out his front door and spun on the spot, reappearing in front of Seamus' house as the sun started to come up. He tapped lightly on Seamus' bedroom window, grateful that he slept downstairs. He saw Seamus roll over and open his eyes. He saw Dean and staggered out of bed to open the window. Dean climbed through and wrapped his arms around his friend.   
"What is it, Dean?" The concern in Seamus' voice was almost tangible.   
"I came to say goodbye," Dean answered. "I'm leaving. I can't go back to Hogwarts, and they'll find me if I just stay with my family. I have to hide. I just wanted to see you before I left, in case something bad happens..."  
Seamus shook his head. "Nothing bad's gonna happen. It wouldn't be fair. You mean too much to me."   
“No, just let me say goodbye. Just in case. Shay, we’ve been friends for years, and I value your friendship more than anything, but I could die this year, and I don’t want to die wishing I’d said something to you. I love you. As a friend, but then also not as a friend. And I think maybe you get that?” Seamus nodded, and Dean decided to ask one more thing. “Can I kiss you?”  
Seamus nodded again, smiling and stretching up on his toes to reach his ridiculously tall best friend. Dean bent down and placed a hand on his cheek, and as their lips met, Dean thought that not being platonic was pretty okay.


End file.
